Isn’t it fitting? We have a clear, excellent, Standard quotation and only vagueness about who made it. Lack of clearness and attribution, now there’s a powerful political mechanism.

Missed Health Care Standards are er… Missed

Imagine my horror and fear. Things are so bad I could, at my age, be rushed to hospital and risk being victim of a missed NHS standard … or, then again, maybe not.

The last time I was an emergency I walked straight in, received immediate service, felt looked after, and walked out about an hour later.

NHS is not Alone

On what basis are Contracts, Services and Standards devised and specified – across our government, agencies, departments, out-source contractors and Quangos? By whom? What proven expertise is brought to bear? We need only look at project difficulties, price escalation and failures, even with private sector involvement.

Punch the Bag

We have a problem about Standards? Standards, that is, set for the NHS and many other aspects of our governance. At its core our NHS is a truly wonderful organisation. Then, of course, we witness the cruelty of the politicians and officials who use it as a punch-bag. Punch-bag you say? We’re well past the political football stage, aren’t we?

Some people at the coal face are incompetent. However, that isn’t due to lack of potential or ability, it’s due to a lack of knowing what to do. If a person can do brain surgery, maybe she could learn, apply and lead performance improvement.

Do private contractors suffer from missed standards?

There is no justification for allowing massive private corporations to take profits from our public purse. Not unless it can be objectively proven that they deliver the best possible return.

There is no defence for not pursuing appropriate training and education for people at the sharp end.

If it is Broke, Fix It

Why don’t we review missed standards as part of a process to seriously fix: